Against the backdrop of the difficult coalition negotiations, Habayit Hayehudi's Naftali Bennett explained his motives for the alliance with Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid: "Why was the coordination with Yair Lapid formed? Because of the Likud's decision to keep Habayit Hayehudi out of government. Without the coordination, a government would have been formed without the religious Zionists, without Habayit Hayehudi and along (Tzipi) Livni's diplomatic line."

Bennett added: "Thanks to the coordination the government will now have a socio-economic focus, not only a diplomatic one." (Moran Azulay)